Sanitation and 'squalor' causing emerging health issues at Parliament protest, concerns for children

Sunday, 13 February 2022

Protesters dance to the Macarena, which was one of the songs played loudly to deter people who had gathered on the lawn in front of parliament.

Sanitation issues, including faeces on the ground, along with the presence of children at the Parliament protest are causing major concern for police as the event looks to stretch into its seventh day.

Speaking to media on Sunday evening, Wellington district commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell said as a result of extensive rain, wider health issues beyond the spread of Covid-19, are emerging.

“You've seen a number of medical events over the past few days, and those will continue to exacerbate. Nonetheless, the primary concern to me is the presence of the children,” he said.

Parnell described the scenes of children playing on the ground and the “squalor of water” and defecation as being of concern.

* Loud music blasted to deter Parliament protesters in Wellington

A night of heavy rain and wind is causing health issues at the Parliament protest.

* Soggy morning for Parliament protesters as they dig trenches to redirect sprinklers

Unblocking several central Wellington roads remains the key focus for police, but conversations with organisers so far have been unsuccessful.

“The primary focus now is to appeal to those key organisers, leaders of the various factions, to engage with us,” he said.

Parnell promised a “highly visible presence” around the Parliament grounds on Monday, with Police foot patrols up Molesworth Street, in the streets next to the protest, and around the train station.

Wellington district commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell.

Commuters travelling to the area are advised to plan for continued disruption to traffic, but Parnell said “we want everyone coming into the city to feel safe”.

Police will offer vehicle owners the opportunity to move their vehicles to a new location.

The Defence Force has also been involved in discussions about unblocking the roads.

A protester walks over what has been dubbed the ‘Mallard Bridge’.

“The plan is not to wait this out,” Parnell said.

The group of protesters has steadily increased in numbers over the day.

“We simply won't resolve this overnight. There's a number of complexities there, and we simply won't arrest our way out of it.”

On Thursday, a skirmish between a line of police and protesters resulted in more than 120 arrests. Some of those arrested have bail conditions to not return to the protest but had done so, he said.

Repairs were carried out to camping equipment damaged overnight.

“We're very conscious and aware of their presence there.”

Police are continuing to capture evidence where possible and will look to take “assertive action downstream” of unlawful behaviour, Parnell said.

Mats, carpet and hay have been put down to reduce the muddy conditions.

The decision to blast loud music and turn on the sprinklers by Speaker Trevor Mallard in an attempt to deter protesters from Parliament’s front lawn was not made by police.

“It’s not a tactic we would encourage,” he said, but added “it is what it is, it happened”.

Wellingtonians should expect “a very high presence” of police on the ground on Monday, in an attempt to reduce “unacceptable behaviours” such as threats to members of the public.

Businesses, individuals or groups offering catering and accommodation to protesters, described by Parnell as “sympathisers”, were ultimately supporting an unlawful occupation, he said.

“I'm not happy with that because that hasn't assisted in terms of ultimately returning Wellington to some freedom.”

When asked whether police could have acted sooner, Parnell said “hindsight is a wonderful thing”.

“I don't think we could ever have predicted the scalability and actually what has played out here,” he said.

At its peak over the weekend, 3000 people attended the protest. About 400-500 people were staying in tents.

Police are aware of weapons on site, but not firearms. 'We've seen the presence of baseball bats which are unlawful and won't be tolerated,” Parnell said.

On Sunday, protesters donning rain ponchos, jackets, and umbrellas appear unfazed by the weather, chanting and dancing in the mud.

Despite rumours circulating online about a woman with Covid-19 at the event, the Ministry of Health confirmed it was not aware of any.

Earlier on Sunday morning, protesters were seen repairing camping equipment damaged by wind and heavy rain overnight, with broken gazebos, chairs, and tents piling up on the outskirts of the lawn.

Several more bales of hay have been brought in to cover the mud. A small group was seen warming themselves up around a large gas patio heater that had been brought onto the grounds.